Skydiving in Dubai has always been a bucket list item for me, and spending Thanksgiving of 2017 free-falling in the air was exactly how I would have wanted to spend it. Seeing the Palm Jumeirah from a bird’s eye point of view is such an incredible experience, and brings back such pleasant memories. With my experience, I would like to highlight a few things that I wish I knew before skying in Dubai.
There is only one company that pulls up when doing a quick search of how to skydive over The Palm. Skydive Dubai offers a total of two locations. One over the iconic Palm, and one over the desert, but really, who are we kidding, we are here for the Palm.
There are many different options on how to see the incredible skyline of Dubai. Whether it be skydiving in Dubai, taking a gyrocopter, or even simply taking a helicopter that overlooks the city. For the adrenaline junkie, skydiving in Dubai is ultimately the way to go.
1. Wear a t-shirt
Skydive Dubai would not allow for me to go skydiving in Dubai in my tank top for fear that the straps from the parachute would rub the skin on my shoulders raw. Shelling out another $35 for a t-shirt could easily be avoided if I had chosen to wear a t-shirt that day. They did not want me wearing a sweater either, and the weather is hot and humid, so a long sleeve would have been unbearable as well. The company had sent out an email saying to wear comfortable shoes and pants, but did not say that tank tops were not allowed, so don’t forget that t-shirts are the way to go when skydiving in Dubai.
2. Do not wear jewelry
When skydiving in Dubai, the obvious might to avoid wearing earrings, watches, or necklaces. They ask you to check your personal belongings with them, along with your cellphones. I would recommend putting wedding rings away as well. I had a ring on, and you can see me struggling to maintain a fist throughout my jump to not let a flying circular piece of metal land on a poor unfortunate soul on ground level.
3. Opt to jump out first
I had the pleasure of jumping out of the airplane first, so I finally did one thing right. I had no qualms about it, because watching 8 other people slowly disappear out of the airplane seemed like the worst countdown imaginable. Being the first out of the plane, you get to enjoy the view without any other skydivers in your view, so it feels like you and your tandem skydiving expert are owning it when skydiving in Dubai. Also, you are sitting directly on your skydiving expert, so as fun as that is, I would prefer to carry on with it.
4. Make sure your safety googles are on right
When skydiving in Dubai, there is an incredible amount of air rushing into your eyeballs, and having your safety googles slightly off will make for difficulty in seeing just about anything, especially if you are wearing contacts or have sensitive eyes. The pressure of falling will make it extremely difficult to adjust it mid-air, so make sure that is taken care of prior to the jump out of the airplane. Your skydiving expert will not always know where the googles sit the most comfortable on your face, so make sure to make adjustments needed to ensure full seeing capabilities while skydiving in Dubai.
5. Have a light meal prior
The wait while actually skydiving in Dubai took about 3+ hours. They have to make sure that everyone is present, parachutes checked, and double-checked, and ready to go. You might not think eating prior to jumping is a good idea, but with all that wait time, and possible nerves, you don’t want to pass out on mid-jump, do you?
6. It is so quiet in the air
I had imagined a turbulent fall, or air just rushing past my ears the whole time. After the first few seconds of twirling around and getting adjusted in the sky, once the parachute is pulled out, it essentially feels like the breaks are applied and being in the air feels so serene. The initial free-fall feels like you are zipping towards the ground incredibly fast, almost like being on a vertical rollercoaster that’s plunging you straight to the ground. It feels like so much freedom with nothing holding you back. Your skydiving expert will probably let you control the direction of where you would like to go once everything is stabilized, or simply make hard curves around the sky to entertain himself and hear you squeal until you reach the ground.
7. It's over before you know it
Honest to God, I had no fear jumping out of the plane. I did not feel the anxiety or how nervous I probably should be, but regardless, the whole experience ended faster than I thought it would have. Although skydiving out of a plane looks like there’s a huge distance to cover from jumping out of the plane to the ground, you actually land only after about 10-15 minutes. Once you have experienced skydiving in Dubai, you will immediately want to do it again.
Make sure to check the USB they give you filled with your initial video and photographs. They will not respond after your skydiving experience if the USB does not work, or you did not receive your pictures. Otherwise, have fun skydiving in Dubai!
Stay wild,
Evangeline
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